“But beyond that, the movie is actually subversive, it’s smart and it’s got some real poignant things to say, even if they are often being said with a wink. That stuff, the friendship, the celebration of creativity, those are my favorite aspects of the movie. I want people to feel the same.”
– David Soren

Stoller and Soren do a fine job making this adventure in growing up entertaining for kid and adult alike, and while I can’t foresee Captain Underpants: The First Epic Adventure spawning any additional cinematic chapters in George and Harold’s heroic tale, if it sends viewers to the library and the bookstore to discover what happens next that’s perfectly fine by me.

“This is fantasy come true. But I was so strong about that fantasy that it hasn’t come as a surprise that it has happened. What I can never stop thinking is how lucky I am that I’m the one who got to do it.”

There’s a heck of a lot to like about writer/director Stephen Dunn’s feature-length narrative debut Closet Monster. It’s an intriguing film, one that has more to say about sexuality and gender than it initially appears, things revolving around a main character who exhibits a ton of genre stereotypes only to burst free of most of them as the story rolls along to its conclusion.

There are so many striking moments, and Tiran’s performance is just so gosh darn terrific, that any hiccups that do arise are few and far between. Best of all, Wrona builds things to the type of shattering, emotionally catastrophic climax that lingers in the mind long after the curtain has closed, making Demon a paranormal descent into madness and mayhem that’s hauntingly good.

Under the Shadow cannily uses a fairly standard, if also expertly staged, ghost story to obsess over a character-driven story arc involving issues of marriage, motherhood, religious fundamentalism and feminism in ways that feel raw, visceral and altogether groundbreaking.

Moorhouse’s willingness to push the envelope and dive into the darkest aspects of the tale with such macabre relish allows the emotions swirling within this maelstrom to resonate all the deeper, The Dressmaker an haute couture Aussie barnburner that’s dressed to the dark comedy nines.

Beautifully animated in its own, eye-popping, stylistically colorful way, Long Way North is like some blissful combination of early Studio Ghibli crossed with the writings of Jack London. It is a timeless tale, one universal in scope and in resonance, building to a heartfelt conclusion that had me wiping away tears while at the same longing to rise to my feet in lively ovation.

“I think the ‘boys will be boys’ mantra is still alive and well in some corners of society. These hazing rituals still happen, so that expression, boys will be boys, it’s clearly a dangerous one.”